Propagation of Colour Democracies - The New War

expatter

I haven't seen Chinese foreign policy promoting and purveying it's political beliefs.

And, I haven't seen China invading foreign lands and dictating their brand of politics.

Have you?

As for colours I have only discussed those that are relevant to the body of the text.



Curious. Green is now a colour which has suddenly taken on multi-billion dollar proportions.

But that is another conspiracy theory, another day.  

expatter

There are actually some other angles of this topic I would like to investigate.

So far the text has been about nouveau-pseudo democracies such as ex-USSR satellites.
And splinter groups in other countries trying to achieve democracy.

But what about further out for fledgling democracies such as:


Haiti
Venezuela
et al

Originally I was interested in whether it is right for other countries to interfer in the internal workings of another sovereign country.

That splits down again:

Dictatorship
Communist
Theocracy

The US answer would obviously be yes.

But then there is another issue. What about democracies that the US just does not like.

Can we assume that the answer is still yes.

Then what does it tell us about actual US foreign power?

Is it still OK or does that further implicate

expatter

Unfortunately, the tragic earthquake in Haiti has caused terrible suffering to this already impoverished nation and our good wishes should be with them.

globalresearch.   ca/articles/CHO402D.html

The Role of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

In Haiti, this "civil society opposition" is bankrolled by the National Endowment for Democracy which works hand in glove with the CIA. The Democratic Platform is supported by the International Republican Institute (IRI) , which is an arm of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Senator John McCain is Chairman of IRI's Board of Directors. (See Laura Flynn, Pierre Labossière and Robert Roth, Hidden from the Headlines: The U.S. War Against Haiti, California-based Haiti Action Committee (HAC), w w w    .haitiprogres.           com/eng11-12.html ).

G-184 leader Andy Apaid was in liaison with Secretary of State Colin Powell in the days prior to the kidnapping and deportation of President Aristide by US forces on February 29. His umbrella organization of elite business organizations and religious NGOs, which is also supported by the International Republican Institute (IRI), receives sizeable amounts of money from the European Union.(h t t  p: //haitisupport.  gn  .apc.      org/184%20EC.htm ).

It is worth recalling that the NED, (which overseas the IRI) although not formally part of the CIA, performs an important intelligence function within the arena of civilian political parties and NGOs. It was created in 1983, when the CIA was being accused of covertly bribing politicians and setting up phony civil society front organizations. According to Allen Weinstein, who was responsible for setting up the NED during the Reagan Administration: "A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA." ('Washington Post', Sept. 21, 1991).

The NED channels congressional funds to the four institutes: The International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS). These organizations are said to be "uniquely qualified to provide technical assistance to aspiring democrats worldwide." See IRI, w  w  w   .iri.     org/history.asp )

In other words, there is a division of tasks between the CIA and the NED. While the CIA provides covert support to armed paramilitary rebel groups and death squadrons, the NED and its four constituent organizations finance "civilian"  political parties and non governmental organizations with a view to instating American "democracy" around the World.

The NED constitutes, so to speak, the CIA's "civilian arm". CIA-NED interventions in different part of the World are characterized by a consistent pattern, which is applied in numerous countries.

The NED provided funds to  the "civil society" organizations in Venezuela, which initiated an attempted coup against President Hugo Chavez. In Venezuela it was the "Democratic Coordination", which was the recipient of NED support; in Haiti it is the "Democratic Convergence" and G-184.

Similarly, in former Yugoslavia, the CIA channeled support to the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) (since 1995), a paramilitary group involved in terrorist attacks on the Yugoslav police and military. Meanwhile, the NED through the  "Center for International Private Enterprise" (CIPE) was backing the DOS opposition coalition in Serbia and Montenegro. More specifically, NED was financing the G-17, an opposition group of  economists responsible for formulating (in liaison with the IMF) the DOS coalition's  "free market" reform platform in the 2000 presidential election, which led to the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic.  



This is quite a long article and other parts of it discuss the complicity of the IMF in keeping nations poor and helping to actually bankrupt them.

expatter

US Campaign against Haiti: Why?
by Dale Sorenson, MITF Director
MITF Report, April 4, 2001


Why are the US government and its friends in the corporate media mounting a new campaign against a country and people moving towards genuine democratic development? Here's a thumbnail sketch of reasons.

* Haiti is resisting corporate globalization.

Since 1994 the Haitian people and government have stood their ground against intense pressure to adopt neoliberal economic policies (opening markets to US goods, austerity programs, and the privatization of state owned enterprises). Newly elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has continued to be a spokesman for an alternative vision that places human development at the center of all economic programs.

To date only the flour mill and the cement plant have been sold. Now Aristide is back in power and the US is again tightening the screws, hoping to force privatization.

* Haiti has a popularly elected government that bas committed itself to making healthcare and education its top priorities.
The Fanmi Lavalas platform on which President Aristide based his candidacy proposes decentralized rural development, funded by Haitian government resources. It favors small-scale projects over large-scale internationally funded projects like roads and power plants. The centerpiece of the platform is a plan to build, staff and equip a primary school and primary care clinic in each of Haiti's 565 rural sections.

* Haiti is the only country in the world, aside from Costa Rica, with no military.

In 1995, President Aristide disbanded the Haitian military. Wildly popular in Haiti, the move caught the US by surprise. Created during the US occupation of Haiti from 1915-1934, the Haitian military served as a force of internal repression against the Haitian people. As is the case throughout Latin America, the Haitian military was a conduit for covert and overt US intervention in Haitian affairs. The conduit is now gone.

The Haitian military once absorbed 40% of Haiti's national budget. Today, Haiti spends zero on the military, making it a model in devoting resources to human development rather than to militarism.

* Haiti has developed close ties with Cuba.
Cuba has hundreds of Cuban doctors and health promoters in Haiti and is training hundreds of Haitians in Cuba to be doctors. Cuba has agronomists and other technicians in Haiti, is helping to improve their literacy program and is trading with Haiti. Cuba is the archenemy of the US.

* Haiti is becoming a participatory democracy that threatens the corporate and the political elites.
President Aristide, elected with over 70% of the popular vote, is moving the country toward real democratic development. The US shuns participatory democracy, preferring its formal democracy with two parties that select candidates for the presidency who represent the rich and powerful.

James Madison, one author of the US Constitution and one of our founding fathers, stated that the reason the vote was limited to property owners was "to protect the opulent minority from the majority". The International Republican Institute and Jesse Helms only support the "opulent minority" candidates in Haiti.

Just as in 1990 when President Aristide was first elected, there is now a campaign to destabilize and isolate the Haitian government and discredit it in the international media. In 1990, this campaign contributed to the violent overthrow of Haiti's elected government and the deaths of 5000 Haitians during three years of military rule.
thirdworldtraveler.   com/Haiti/US_Campaign_Haiti.html

interesting

Let's just note that Engdahl believes quite wholeheartedly that oil is created by magical forces deep within the Earth, not the decay of plant and animal life along with subsequent heat and pressure.

Also, I really think it's funny when people characterize NED as a "front" because, frankly, it was created by act of Congress and is specifically funded by it each year. This kind of crap is pretty much the hallmark of conspiracy theorizing. The extent to which this board loves speculation masquerading as research is hilarious.

expatter

"characterize NED as a "front" because, frankly, it was created by act of Congress and is specifically funded by it each year."

I believe the writers of the articles have already made that clear.

But thanks for noticing.